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You’ve Got Four Seconds

Four seconds is the maximum length of time an average online shopper will wait for a Web page to load before potentially abandoning a retail site. That’s the finding from a report by Akamai Technologies, Inc., a global service provider of online business processes. The report ranked poor site performance as second only to high product prices and shipping costs as leading factors for dissatisfaction among online shoppers.

“The critical takeaway from this research is that online shoppers not only demand quality site performance, they expect it,” says Brad Rinklin, vice president of marketing at Akamai. “Four seconds is the new benchmark by which a retail site will be judged, which leaves little room for error for retailers to maintain a loyal online customer base.”

Gentle Reminders

You could be missing out on sales if you’re not reminding customers when it’s time for them to update previous products they bought from you. The same is true if you’re not telling customers when it’s time to repeat a service they purchased. Some ideas:

• A graphic designer could send a letter to clients in January encouraging them to update their Web site design for the new year.

• A landscaping service could send out postcards reminding customers that it’s time to add mulch to flower beds to protect plants from freezing weather.

• An auto mechanic could send a flyer to customers reminding them that it’s time to have automobile fluids checked for the winter.

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